Princess of Azgeda
by Wannabe-More
Summary: She was sent to earth at the mere age of four, her landing bringing her into the domain of Queen Nia of Azgeda. Hardly remembering her time on the Ark, this is the story of the Princess of Azgeda, and how she finds her other half, Lexa Kom trikru. Disclaimer: I don't own anything! If I did, Lexa would still be alive.
1. Chapter 1

The alarm was sounding, the heightening and lowering of the noise was blaring in his ears, the constant repetition only spurring him on as he cradled the small child in his arms, her quiet sniffles being the only other sound to his ears besides the pounding of his feet against the metal floors of the passages that he was sprinting through.

'Everythings going to be alright sweetheart' even to his own ears he could hear the wavering in his voice as he continued panting down the hall. It wasn't until he came to a stop next to a large door that he finally looked down at the girl in his arms, her bright blue eyes stared up at him, tears glistening within them as her lips trembled.

Smiling down at his only child Jake Griffin showed his pass to the device sitting by the door, wires sticking out of the security lock, Jake's own creation. Stepping into the room, he made his way towards the centre, the lights flicking above his head caught on the walls of the room, the edges of each wall rusted but the clear colour of titanium shining throughout the room. He stopped once he had reached the device sitting in the middle, it didn't look like much, an old escape pod that looked like it had come from seven different kinds, the obvious discolouration amongst the pieces of metal joining it together, the door fully enclosed with only a small window for the person inside to see through. It was the safest one he could find, he knew when he was building it that he couldn't allow the cargo inside to risked being damaged at all, it was precious after all.

Looking down at his daughter again, Jake smiled, 'I love you so much my beautiful girl' finally walking around to the entrance of the pod he pressed a button to open the door, the wheezing noise it made shook him to his core, signalling to him that this may very well be the last time that he got to see his daughter again.

Placing the small child on the ground, Jake knelt down so he was at eye height to her, grabbing her hands he turned the palms upwards, placing his grandfather's watch into the young girl's grasp,' I'm so sorry I can't come with you baby girl, but this is the only way I know of to ensure that you're safe. I can't explain to you why I have to do this, but I need you to know that I love you so very much, I wouldn't be doing this if i didn't have a choice'

Tears trying to escape her eyes, Clarke looked at her father with the innocent eyes that only a four year old could have, she didn't understand what was happening, all she knew was that her father had grabbed her from her room within the ark and carried her here, screaming and shouting the only thing she could hear until they had reached a part of the ark that she had never been to before.

Looking up at her father, she refrained from crying, she wasn't going to do that, she was a big girl now, but she could see the fear within his eyes as his hands held the watch tightly within her own, 'Daddy…'

Looking at his daughter Jake moved his arms so that they encircles her small waist, squeezing her close to him as he spoke to her,

'I promise it's safe down there Clarke, I sent a probe weeks ago to make sure the area you would land would be survivable, you have to promise me that you'll take care of yourself. There are enough rations in the pod to last you 4 months, it's not much but it should hold you over until I can follow you down'

Pulling away from the child, he stood up, lifting her with him, moving closer to the pod he placed her inside in the single seat. Pulling the seat belt straps around the small child, he fastened them around her, so that there was one coming over either should, metting one that came up through her legs in the middle. Tightening the belts once he had clipped them in, he tugged on them, once, twice, three times to make sure they were secure.

Moving away from the child he moved toward the small console of the pod, lights begging to come to life as he started pressing a number of different buttons. Finally finished, he turned back to the small girl, her eyes following him with every move that he made, flipping the cover to a red light he pointed to it, making sure his daughter followed where his finger was indicating, 'Once the pod has started to move away from the ark, I need you to press this button Clarke'

Looking up at her father, Clarke shook her head, tears finally leaking from her eyes as his words made there way to her ears, 'Wha… Dad….'

"I'm serious Clarke, promise me that you will press that button, promise me once you're pod is out in space, you will push this button' to make sure his point got across, he grabbed her chin gently, making the small girl look directly into his eyes rather than the button she had been staring at, 'Promise me Clarke'

Looking at her father, she could only nod her head once before she suddenly heard shouts from outside in the hall, swearing under his breath, Jake pressed one more button before moving away from his daughter. The door of the pod slowly closed on the small child, sealing shut with a hiss.

Moving over towards a panel that stood against the far side of the wall, Jake ignored the cries of his daughter calling out to him, pressing a number of buttons on the panel he watched painfully with tears streaming down his face as the pod was slowly moved across the room, a belt within the floor pulling it towards one of the walls. Pressing a few more buttons the wall before the pod split open in two, slowly separating to allow the pod to entire the air type room.

He looked towards the door when he heard pounding on it, he knew it wouldn't be long before they entered, he also knew he probably wouldn't be joining his daughter soon now that they had figured out what he was doing. He could only hope that his daughter survived down there, for he knew she would never survive up here.

Finally pressing the last few buttons on the panel, the wall began to slide shut again, the pod safely within the walls of the new room. Jake heard the hiss of the outside panel of the ark as it opened, and the gushing sound of the pod as it escaped its confines, he prayed to everything that it would all work out.

Clarke was still crying, watching through the small window that she could only just see as the pod got further and further away from the ark, finally pulling her young eyes away they landed on the button her father had pointed to not minuets before. Taking a shuddering breath, the four year old moved her hand out, just barely able to reach the button, I sob escaped past her lips as she pressed it down. The lurch of the pod startling her as a bang reached her ears with the thrusters starting, pushing her towards the blue and green planet that she would stare at every night before she slept.

It seemed peaceful at first, only the sound of her small sobs and hiccups invading the hum of the pod as it moved closer and closer to earth. It was with a sudden lurch of the pod that Clarke screamed, entering the Earth's atmosphere she watched within the window as flames seems to attempt to in case the pod that surrounded her, the bangs from outside her small space startling her with each one.

The rumbling of the pod continued, hissing noises beginning to accompany the sounds coming from outside, the sudden lurch of the pod pulled another scream from the young girl's lips, she could see white outside the window as the pod continued towards what she knew was the ground of earth, squeezing her eyes shut, clarke cried as she plummeted closer towards the ground.

Waking with a start, the young girl gasped as she held her hand to her chest. It wasn't the first time she had, had that dream, and she highly doubted it would be her last.

Finally managing to get her breathing under control, she swung her legs over the soft furs of the bed that she had been sleeping on. Looking around, she breathed in the crisp smell of snow and dirt, the familiar pinch of the cool air on her skin reminding her where she was.

Breathing slowly, she looked up as a shout came from the closed flap of her tent, 'Goufa, ge op em ste time gon yo kon tend tran graun, teda yu kon qu seken…. o nou' _Child, get up it is time for you to attend the training ground, today you become a second… or not._

Grimacing slowly, the girl let her blond hair fall to the front of her face as she stood, 'Sha, ai'm op ai, don bilaik der ortly' _Yes, i'm up, I will be there shortly._ The words seemed to escape her without thought, she did not know why her instrustructer insisted on waking her up, she would already know that the young blonde would already be awake. She never slept in, her dreams, or nightmares as she prefered, never let her.

Standing she walked to the far side of the tent that she occupied, furs lined the floors as it did with every basic home would be warriors found themselves in, the only difference from hers to any other was the number of drawings scattered around the place, she didn't bother looking at any of them, the distraction would not be welcomed today.

Making her way to the chest that sat against the wall, she opened it's heavily carved lid, pulling out the fur lined armour, short swords and daggers that lay within. Pulling the clothes on, she slowly made her way to the small mirror that rested on a desk in the far corner of the tent, strapping her weapons on as she went.

Pulling the mirror up she looked at the young face of the eleven year old girl before her, her piercing blue eyes staring back as her blond hair rolled down her head in waves.

She didn't do this often, hating the clear difference between her appearance and the other apprentices around her, it only made her stand out more, but today would most likely be the last day that she would see this face as it was, without the tattoo that she knew was going to be placed by her right eye, the tattoo of her kwin.


	2. Chapter 2

She could hear the sounds of grunts and moans as she approached the training field, moving along the dirt trodden path, Clarke surveyed the familiar surroundings as she made her way closer to the sounds. She was on the outskirts of the city, small makeshift tents appeared every few hundred yards, usually 5 or 6 bunched together. These were the homes of the children like her, ones with no family, who were being trained to become Nia's warriors, most likely the cattle being sent in a first wave to die or distract an enemy.

Moving her eyes away from the makeshift homes that she was all too familiar with, Clarke finally came to a point where she could see the area, it was below her, down a slight hill that she was currently standing on, taking a deep breath in, she continued walking towards it.

Today was the day that the warriors of Queen Nia chose their seconds, it wasn't something that Clarke had been looking forward too but she knew it needed to be done.

Continuing down towards the field she conveyed the barren circle, small patches of snow appeared hazardly within it, to precise to be by mother nature, a test she thought, watch your terrain as much as your opponent, know your surroundings.

The arena was completely surrounded by different azgeda warriors, she knew that if she really wanted to accomplish something today she needed to be chosen by one of the queens generals, something usually reserved for the apprentices that lived within the city, that families knew people, but if you were good, really good, one of them would most likely pick you. Clarke wasn't here to just survive, she was going to conquer.

Two novices were currently fighting within the circle, their grunts as they each took blows from the other enticed yells and shouts from the audience. Clarke took note of the spectators that weren't partaking in the verbal acknowledgments, these were the warriors that she wanted to be trained by, the ones who could shield their emotions from the world around them and concentrate on what was happening, the ones who would analyse and watch every situation, knowing it was never safe to let one's guard down.

Finally approaching the throng of people, Clarke made her way to the waiting area of all the warriors to be, each one appeared nervous in their own way, either attempting to be stoic or obviously fidgeting with the knowledge of what was about to come.

Knowing that this was a further part of her training, she began to study each and everyone of the awaiting contestants before her, she knew she would be facing one of them today, and to gain the attention she needed, she had to win.

To her right was a short girl with light brown hair cut shortly to frame her face, she appeared nervous, wringing her hands together whilst watching the battle that was currently occurring on the field. Too her left was a tall, broad boy, he appeared much calmer than the rest but was watching the field with excitement and eagerness. Thinking to herself, Clarke analysed each of the individuals standing in line, she needed to prepare herself for the opponent that she would face, someone who was nervous would be an easy task, knowing her skill, Clarke could take many of the formidable opponents that stood before her, the extra training that she had forced herself to take since the age of 5 made her one of the most dangerous apprentices in the circle, but not the best.

Slowly moving her eyes across the different array of potential fighters, she finally let her eyes fall upon the queen of Azgeda.

Nia was sitting upon a throne made of skulls, something which Clarke knew was a large part of intimidation, it worked. Moving her eyes along she continued to gauge the reactions of the many teachers to the display, finally resting on a tall lean woman, who was quietly watching off too the right hand side of their queen, leaning against a pole that helped to create the cover for which the queen was sitting under.

Her hair was as dark as the night, neatly kept in place by a number of intricate braids, she wasn't just watching the fight Clarke noticed, but rather was also taking stock of the upcoming fighters before everyone.

Meeting Clarke's eyes, the woman moved from her leaning position against the pole she had been using as support, Clarke did not waver in her stance, but rather looked at the women with curiosity as she had never seen her before within the training schedule of her fellow apprentices, she looked different from every other observer. She had a round face that was free from all azgeda markings, with dark brown eyes that seemed to be piercing into her own, her appearance was menacing in itself but Clarke refused to look away, too intrigued by this quiet new comer to the azgeda ring.

The noise that finally drew her attention away was the sound of the horn that signified the end of the match, looking back to the centre of the ring Clarke watched what was happening, one of the two had the other pinned to the ground, knife to their throat, thinking internally, Clarke thought of all the ways that she could have escaped that particular hold, analysing the way the opponent lent more to their right than their left, showing a weak opening that would have allowed the weaker opponent to push them over, turning the tables.

Although, the loser did nothing, only stared up at her victor with hate in her eyes as a man called forth from the side, walking forward from within all of the spectators, indicating that he would take the winner as his second.

Sighing Clarke moved her eyes back to the many different Azgeda children she may very well face, the dark to light brown hair, silver that differentiated between each individual continued to remind Clarke of the obvious difference that she was not where she truly belonged. She didn't belong here, she didn't belong anywhere.

The next names that were called pulled her out of her internal dialogue, moving from the group that she had been previously studying not long beforehand came a tall girl, with long silver length hair that had been pulled back into a simple ponytail, in an attempt to keep it out of her face. The following opponent was a short boy, with dark brown hair who appeared to be too nervous to even prepare himself by studying the person he would be facing within the arena within a few moments.

Watching the two participants enter, she watched them both walk towards the queen, each one bowing deeply to her before moving towards a wall that had a number of different weapons on display, each participant picked a weapon for themselves, the boy picking a longsword, its sharp edges glinting in the sunlight, whilst the girl picked up two small daggers, smiling to herself Clarke nodded her head, she approved of the girls decision, light and easy to move around with, whilst the boys would be heavy, one swing would create an easy opening as long as his opponent was fast enough.

The girl was the first to move towards the centre of the ring, swirling each dagger between her fingers, a clear display of knowledge with the weapons, the boy slowly followed behind, his grip on the sword so tight that his knuckles were turning white. She watch as he forced himself into a fighting stance in front of his foe.

Clarke knew this would be a quick battle, it was clear in the stances that each individual took, the girl on the balls of her toes, light on her feet and ready to strike, whilst the boy already seemed heavy footed. The only question was whether or not she would let the boy live.

The sound of a horn signally twice in short intervals indicated the start of the match, they started slowly, the boy watching the girl waiting for any moves towards him, while, Clarke noted, that the girl was watching his footing and his stance, looking for any openings within his attack style.

Watching closely, she took notice of the slight movements of the girls feet, inching forward, she was going to strike first. Just as predicted the girl lunged forward, her blades swiping at the boy as she aimed for his legs, a deep slashed appeared on his thigh as she moved around him, blades at the ready again.

She was playing with him, using this as a chance to train rather than a battle to prove oneself to a potential first.

The boy suddenly lunged at the girl, aiming for her head in the hopes of hitting her only for her to swiftly duck out of the blades range, twisting to the left and creating another slice to the boy's thigh. Obviously limping, the boy clenched his jaw, his eyes staring hard into his opponent as he attempted to concentrate on her next move. It was clear to Clarke that the girl was going to win, her superior fighting stance and knowledge obvious to anyone watching, becoming bored with the fight, she moved her eyes back to the spectators.

Most didn't appear interested in this fight, obviously the winner was already clear to the majority of the crowd, scanning her eyes along the audience she found them setting on the mysterious woman again, she was leaning against the pole again but her eyes remained firmly on Clarke, as if they had never wavered from their position.

Taking a deep breath in, Clarke steadied any nerves that occurred at that knowledge, she wasn't here to impress some nobody, who didn't even have the markes of Azgeda on her face to signify her allegiance.

Closing her eyes, she began to focus on her breathing, clearing her mind from everything around her. The inner monologue that was usually constant in her head, slowly starting to fade away, the rise and fall of her chest the only thing she was conscious of.

This was how she had survived over the years since being accepted into the ranks of the clan, to close her mind of and forget, simply listening to her breaths, knowing that she was indeed alive, no matter where she was in the world.

 _7 Years ago._

 _The world was hazy, her eyes wouldn't open properly and it hurt to breath, but she couldn't move, she couldn't scream. Nothing seemed real to her right now, her father putting her into a pod, the jolt as she hit the atmosphere, or the crash as said pod collided with the ground of earth._

 _Everything seemed liked a dream, she heard the hiss of the door as it opened, similar to when she was still on the ark with her father._

 _There were voices around her, but she couldn't understand what they were saying, it was like they were talking in a different language, but that couldn't be so, everyone spoke english. The thought trickled through her brain as the world starting going into darkness, her thoughts coming to fast and slow at the same time for her to grab ahold of any of them._

 _The second time that she awoke she wasn't in the pod anymore, her mind was clearer than it had been before. Looking around. tears started leaking out of Clarke's eyes, she had no idea where she was or what anything was that surrounded her, she had never seen what she knew to be chairs but the material they were made of, the cloth that covered her was warm and soft, very different to the sheets that she had on her bed within the ark._

 _Taking in more of her surroundings she noticed her cover appeared to be made of cloth, or some other material, nothing hard and shiny like the ark, this only brought more tears to fall from her eyes, she was scared._

 _She didn't know where she was, she didn't have any idea how she got here from when the pod had hit the earth, she missed her dad, she missed her mum. She just wanted to go home._

 _It was then that she started hearing voices outside of her enclosure, she couldn't understand anything that they were saying, the words sounding like random sounds to her ears._

 _They were getting louder though, she heard the anger within their voices as they yelled, the sounds getting louder the closer they came, she could hear different voices now though as they moved closer towards her, these ones weren't yelling but were quite, a pleading tone to them._

 _It was when a tall man entered the room that Clarke truly understood the danger that stood before her, he was of medium build, his hair graying in some places but the dark brown still staining most of it, a long beard hid the jaw lines underneath but his piercing grey eyes looked at her with anger, walking up to the child he grabbed her by the arm, not saying a word as he dragged her out of the room._

 _Blinking her yes suddenly, she tried to adjust to the brightness of the outside world that assaulted her senses, she wasn't given any chance though as the man continued to drag her along, pulling her towards an animal something that she had never seen before but was sure lied in the earth history book that she would of had to read in the future if she was still on the ark._

 _It stood upon all fours, a long shaped face - something she remembered seeing in the story books her father would read her, a prince always sitting on top of its long back in the pictures. The length of it appeared to be 15 or so hands tall, its broad chest seeming to puff out underneath the length of its long neck. It's was coloured a light copper with white splashes appearing along its fur, its strong back having a huge splash towards the back, adjoining with its swishing tail._

 _Tears had started streaming down her face, fear crippling her from doing or saying anything. She was thrown upon the beast, the impact driving any air from her small lungs, she lay across its back, her stomach touching the back of the animal as her arms and legs dangled off each side. The impact of the hit seemed to jar her out of her trance as she began struggling to escape the creature and the grasp that remained upon her arm, screams starting to rip themselves from her throat as her hands were quickly bound by someone else, the tightening of the rope burning her wrists as it was secured to a strap that wrapped around the animal._

 _She couldn't stop the sounds escaping her as she continued to kick her legs, ' daddy!..' A choked sob followed as she continue crying out for her father, wanting nothing more than for him to wake her from what could only be a terrible nightmare._

 _The man finally stepped away from her once her legs were bound to the animal as well, stopping any form of struggle. Clarke let out a strained gasp for breath as more screams and sobs ripped themselves from her chest. Her fear completely over taking her young mind and body. The man who had originally grabbed her from the tent jumped up in front of her on the animal, his leather clad thighs straddling the sides of the thing as he grabbed a thin piece of material that attached itself to the animal's head and mouth._

 _The sounds ceased momentarily from Clarke as she was jolted by the sudden movement of the animal moving forward. It's movement jolting her with each step, tears streaming down her face still, she could only hope that she would wake up soon._

 _The ride was event less, besides Clarke's sobs and muffled screams as the man had grown tired near the beginning of the journey and gagged her with a filthy cloth. The sudden jolt of the animal as it stopped made the girl's body ache as she had become use to the jerking motion of the beast as it walked._

 _She let out a muffled moan as a different person came up to untie her from her ropes, it was a woman this time, her hair the colour of blinding snow with a round face and thin straight nose that met just above her lips, full and round, her grey eyes seemed to burn into Clarke as she lifted the girl off the horse and shoved her onto the ground, hard, a screamed ripped itself from Clark's throat as she landed awkwardly, she was sprawled on the ground, her arm caught underneath her body in an unnatural position. Sobs began to fall from her lips as she attempted to roll over to alleviate the pain that was pounding from her wrist, another scream escaped her as she felt a tug at the back of her shirt, the woman ripping her from the ground into a standing position. Clarke heard a distinct scoff of 'kwelen Goufa'_ weak child, _as the woman pushed her forward, forcing her to start walking, cradling her arm to her chest Clarke finally took note of where they were._

 _The woman was forcing her up the steps of what seemed to be what Clarke could only describe as a castle, but a ruined one at that._

 _The steps she was walking on were crafted of stone and marble of what could only once had been a grand entrance to the structure but now was half demolished along one side with the rest crumbling apart at the edges of each step._

 _The stairs started wide at the bottom, narrowing as they reached the top, opening up into a large courtyard, a base of a fountain stood in the middle, in place of a beautiful statue stood a large metal pole, covered in a dark red and brown substance that Clarke could only guess as to its origin._

 _The woman continued to push Clarke forward, leading her around the fountain like structure towards a tall wood door. It stood high above them, seemingly to reach up to the sky in Clarkes eyes. The woman pushed open one side of the door, just large enough for one person to fit through, she stepped through grabbing Clarke's shirt as she went, dragging the young girl in after her._

 _Clarke barely managed to grab a glimpse of the inside of the impressive structure before she was pulled roughly along to some steps that led down a dark passageway, flaming torches lighting the walls every now and then as she was dragged further down._

 _They finally reached the bottom of the stairs, the woman throwing Clarke against the wall as she moved towards another door, this one appeared to be made of metal as she pulled the latch down on it and pulled it forward opening it._

 _Clarke let out a loud whimper as she was pulled roughly from the wall and thrust into the room, it was small, really small, her feet could probably walk from each wall within 6 steps, there was a bundle of old stained fabric against the far corner on the floor, the damp walls glistening off the walls due to a small streak of sunlight that was managing to enter the room though a tiny window toward the top of the far wall. The woman pushed Clarke to the ground, grinning as she made the girl land on her wrist eliciting another scream from her throat, turning around she walked out of the room quickly, the grinding sound of the latch ringing through clarke's mind as she huddled towards the corner, pulling the tattered cloth around her she let sobs escape from her mouth. She had no idea where she was, who she was with or why, all she knew was that she was terrified._

 _Closing her eyes, she tried to focus on her breathing, attempting to clear her mind, so she could forget the pain in her arm, forget that she wasn't on the ark anymore, and forget that she was all alone._

 _Present._

'Clarke!'

The sound of her named ripped Clarke back to the present, shaking her head she clenched her fists at her stupidity, she was suppose to be clearing her mind for the upcoming fight, not remembering a time that didn't matter anymore.

She felt a shove on her back, one of the other novices pushing her forwards, light chuckles filled the group as they all watched Clarke move forward, seeing her stalling as a sign of fear. Finally looking around Clarke moved her eyes towards the arena, trying to find her opponent, she clenched her fists again as her eyes landed on who it was.

A tall boy stood within the middle of the arena, a grin plastered on his face as he swirled two swords, one in each hand, showing his confidence to everyone who was watching.

His name was Kral, if Clarke recalled correctly, he was a bully amongst the other novices, always picking on those he knew he could beat, and he could beat nearly everyone, leaving no one to escape his violence.

Taking a deep breath in Clarke made her way into the arena, walking slowly towards her Queen she didn't stop until she was about 5 feet in front of her, she bowed lowly to the woman before straightening back up.

Turning around, she made her way over to the wall of weapons thinking carefully about what to pick. Kral was good, he was fast on his feet and strong, she knew she would only get a few chances to take him, this wasn't going to be a fight of submission, this was going to be a fight to the death, everyone wanted to see Clarke bleeding in the dirt. Especially Kral, the one time she handed his ass to him in a fight resulting in his hatred for the young blonde, no one had ever beaten him before, she had only done so because he had turned his back in her, thinking her down for the count.

Gazing at the weapons before her she debated briefly on what she should pick, swords wouldn't do, she wasn't as good as Kral with them and he could easily overpower her, the axes were out of the option too, there heaviness a hindrance. Stepping forward Clarke picked up a small dagger, the blade no larger than her arm.

She knew what she had to do to win this fight, it had to be fast and quick the small blade presenting the easiest option, she only had to get close enough to him to use it.

Turning back around she made her way out onto the field, watchful as Kral surveyed her weapon choice, his grin growing as he chuckled at her lowly, he didn't see her as a threat, he didn't really have anyone who could threaten him within their training group.

Standing in the middle of the field opposite her opponent, Clarke gripped the dagger in her hand, watching as Kral moved into a fighting stance, his sword held up in front of him, ready to block any sudden movements from the smaller girl.

The second the two short horns rang out, Clarke moved her feet to the right, one behind the other keeping her balance at all times, she needed to wait, she couldn't attack first. She watched the realisation come across Kral's face as he grinned at her, the grip on his sword tightening as he moved his feet forward slightly, Clarke watched as his muscles tensed in both arms, indicating the attack that he was about to make. Knowing what she had to do, she moved her weight into the front of her feet, reading to spring into action when the chance arose.

It came a lot sooner than she thought it would. Kral moved both swords together bringing them back over his left shoulder as he stepped towards her, bringing the swords down in a striking motion, aiming for her head. Seeing the move coming Clarke quickly stepped back, watching as the swords moved towards the ground, leaving Kral's face and neck open for attack, using the chance Clarke lightly jumped forward, her feet moving over the top of the blades as she spun the dagger in her grip, the blade now facing inwards as she twisted her arm towards his neck with her movement. She watched the frown come across Kral's face as he realized his mistake, but it was too late, the short dagger made its mark, stabbing easily into the skin of the young man's neck, Clarke used the weight of her body to force the blade forward as she continued to move past him, ripping it through the skin of his neck as she went. Landing on her feet quietly, she quickly turned around to survey her opponent.

He stood still, his back towards her as blood pooled heavily from his wound, his swords falling limp in his hands. There was utter silence amongst the spectators as he fell to his knees, his upper body moving with the momentum as his face fell towards the ground. A resounding splash echoing with the fall of his body.

The silence around the arena had grown thick, many not believing what they had just seen until a loud voice shouted out, it was a man, about forty years of age, his thick dark brown hair covering most of his face, he was moving forward to claim Clarke as his second.

Smiling to herself Clarke made to walk over toward the man when a second voice shouted out, making her halt. A third voice added itself to the noise causing Clarke to spin around searching for the individuals who would fight to take her as their second, more voice's began to fill the void, some Clarke could tell weren't actually happy with her, the many whispers of spy and traitor spilling through the noise that only seem to be growing louder. Still turning around, her eyes landed on the women who had been resting beside the queen this entire time, she was now whispering in the queens ear, a frown on Nia's face as the woman spoke to her.

Clarke watched as the queen gave a slight nod of her head before raising her hand, a hush instantly falling over the crowd as they all looked to their kwin, awaiting her decision.

Frowning to herself Clarke watched as the queen remained seated on her throne, and rather indicated for the mysterious woman to step forward.

Taking a few steps forward, the woman looked out over the crowd, the silence continued, as if this woman was also greatly respected amongst the Azgeda crowd. The words that left her throat made Clarke choke slightly on the air attempting to enter her body. The words had a finality to them that no one around the arena wanted to argue against.

'em ste ain' _She is mine._


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, unfortunately. See end for Authors note.

She was hurting all over, blood was running down her arms and legs from the numerous amounts of shallow gashes present, breathing raggedly, Clarke adjusted her footing, needing to remain in control of her aching limbs.

Her first was grinning at her, twirling her thin sword in one hand. 'How did you win against Kral again, Clarke?'  
The use of English was something Clarke was still getting used too, after spending years of barely speaking the language she found she had to force herself to talk in it rather than having it come naturally to her.  
'He was overconfident, wasn't paying attention to what I was doing or what attack he was taking'  
The words left her in a rush, her exhaustion prominent within her breathlessness.

'It's easier to kill someone when they underestimate you, isn't it?'

Giving a slight nod of her head, Clarke moved her feet forward quickly, attempting to slash the blade against her firsts arms, her arms were quickly knocked to the side, and a new gash was received against her side. Gasping slightly, she moved back into position. 'It's never easy to kill anyone.'  
Clarke didn't even see the first fly towards her face, the impact registering as her back hit the ground with the momentum. 'You aren't here to feel sorry about killing anyone Clarke Kom Azgeda, you are my second, as such you will push such thoughts away, you are a weapon for our Kwin, nothing more'

Nodding her head again Clarke pushed herself off the ground, her arms aching painfully with the movement, 'Sha, Kera'

Grinning down at her sekond, Kera took hold of the young girls shirt, helping to pull her to her feet. 'You are to follow in my footsteps Clarke, I didn't just choose you on a whim, you will be the best fighter in Azgeda, you must be to take my place as the Kwins assassin'

Grimacing slightly Clarke could only give another small nod, the words impacting her greatly. She had become accustomed to pushing aside her emotions over the last seven years to get where she was, but the thought of being an assassin for the queen wasn't something she had ever prepared herself for. The way assasin rang in the air brought a chill down her spine, she always knew that she would have to kill, it was the Azgeda way, something she had been taught ever since she was allowed out of her prison cell but being an assassin was to be alone, to kill without thought or question or attachment, at least if Clarke had been placed into a normal sekonds position she would have been able to avoid a lot of conflict, not being sent in as the cause for war, the reason for thousands of deaths.

That was what they had been training for now, Kera had told her little, only that their first mission together was going to bring great things to Azgeda, more people for the clan, more land.  
The weeks went by fast for Clarke as she took this opportunity to learn as much as she could, putting in extra work wherever she could to become the best at what she was, it didn't seem like long to get before months had passed and then a year, it was at the beginning of this new year that Kera showed up at at clarkes tent with two bags slung over her shoulder.

Kera had cut her hair about six months ago, the ends now just hanging below her jawline, it seemed to make her face more menacing, a darkness in her brown eyes that Clarke knew one day she would carry herself.

'Get up'

A bag was thrown toward Clarke, hitting her in the stomach causing her to wince, pulling herself up from her bed she placed the bag on the floor, moving toward her chest to get dressed.

'Where are we going?' The question hung in the air between them, she knew she wouldn't get an answer but could only hope that she had earnt her first's trust enough to get something from her other than silence, still nothing came.

Sighing Clarke pulled the top of her chest open, the dark stained wood was intricately carved with depictions of war, men pushing spears through other men's chests, two woman standing on the far left side, a flag with the symbol of Azgeda between them. She had asked Kera once if the girl beside the queen was her but had again received no answer, Clarke had deduced that it couldn't be as the woman clearly had the mark of Azgeda carved into the side of her face in the picture. Pulling out a long brown coat, she pushed her arms through the sleeves, the White fur lining the outside tickling her neck as she wrapped it around herself, she had slept in her pants that night, deeming it too cold to go without clothes despite the warm fire blazing the the middle of her tent and the numerous furs that covered her bed.

Grabbing a thin piece of fabric, she pulled her hair back away from her face, securing the sides together at the back of her head whilst leaving the rest down, her blonde waves flowing over the back of her coat. Stepping away from the chest she moved to stand in front of Kera, grabbing the bag along the way, it was heavy, no doubt packed with clothes and rations for the journey. Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror she quickly scanned her appearance, she had filled out a lot in the last year, a scar ran above her right eye, cutting her eyebrow in half, a reminder of another failed training session, she didn't look like she was twelve now, appearing to be more in her teens than anything else, but rigorous training did that to most of the sekonds.

Kera motioned toward the tent flap with her head, quickly turning around and striding out afterwards not waiting for Clarke to follow. Taking a deep breath, she quickly followed her tutor outside, not surprised to see two horses awaiting them, a small boy no older than 8 sanding with the reins between his small hands, taking one from the boy she pulled it back over the horse's head before pulling herself atop the saddle, the motion coming easily to her after years of practise.

Kera was standing off to the side, talking quietly with another woman, they both appeared to be in a heated discussion about something before the other woman nodded her head quickly and motion towards the free horse, turning quietly from the other woman, Kera strode over purposefully toward the horse, pulling herself up in one motion, she waited for the boy to give her the rains before she tapped the horse in its side, starting its movements forwards. Clarke quickly followed behind, her legs clenching against the side of the horse as she began to follow its slow paced rhythm of walking.

Pulling up alongside Kera, she said nothing as they slowly made there way toward the city limits. It was cloudy overhead, the sun blocked behind a thick layer of grey within the sky, the promise of snow clear in the chilly breeze that brushed along clarke's cheeks as they rode. She knew it would be a few weeks before they returned the extra bags slung over either horse's back indicating the duration of their trip, it wasn't until they were well passed the city limits when Clarke repeated her question of where they were heading.

'The queen has requested that you show how far you have come in your training, and to determine if your loyalty really does lie with our kwin'

Grimacing slightly at the lack of trust Clarke took an encouraging breath before replying. 'The Kwin had been kind to me, kinder than any family I could have had, she has given me a home, something to live for, Azgeda is my family Kera, I have no one else.'

The small smile that graced Kera's face at the answer told Clarke she had said the right thing, she knew she came from the ark in the sky, dreaming constantly of her father sending her to the ground, but beyond that she didn't recall much from her childhood, not before she was taken to the queen, her first few weeks although dark, Clarke now understood were necessary.

You could never really trust anyone on the ground, she figured that may have been one of the reasons that Kera had picked her, she didn't trust anyone.

8 years ago.

Clarke didn't know how long she had been in this room or cell, whatever it was, the small window that allowed sunlight to stream through every now and then wasn't much of an indication, the days sometimes too dark to tell if it really was day or night outside. She had stopped trying to guess a while ago, the rumble of her stomach brought her out from her inner musings, the contact ache in her belly becoming a normal for her now. She didn't recall the last time someone had brought her food, her body showing the signs with bone now poking through her frail skin, a small glass of water was usually what was shoved under the small flap that was located at the bottom of her prisons door. Food was a luxury she had decided, even if it was usually stale bread, it was enough to keep her going. She pulled the ragged blankets she had been holding around her body, silently counting the stones on the walls and floor, she always lost count at around 567, the repititive motion passing the time.  
She recalled the man who came shortly after she had been thrown in here, he had asked her where she was from, demanding to know why she had intruded on their territory without a reason. He seemed to think she would know all about the pod she arrived in, but her answers of 'I don't know' and 'my father sent me here' didn't appease the brooding hulk, he had slapped her, hard, before dangerously throwing her into the corner of the room before storming out. She was lucky she hadn't been hurt worse than she was, a brooze formed on the side of her face and a stinging ache residing in her wrist, it wasn't long after he left that someone else appeared an older woman, a doctor if Clarke had guessed right. She had binded clarke's wrist before softly feeling the side of her face that had then been red and angry from the slap, the small smile she gave the young girl was kind, and showed promise that maybe everything would be okay.

The screeching of the latch pulled Clarke out of her memory, the person who entered this time she had never seen before. It was a tall woman, she was thin with grey hair that had bright white streaks flowing through it, she had a scar beside her right eye, similar to everyone else that entered but she was dressed in cleaner clothes, the white and black flowing dress hugging her frame. She looked down at Clarke with steely grey eyes, they seemed to be reading her mind, scanning the girl from head to foot appraising the weak thing before her.

The woman approached Clarke quickly, grabbing her by the front of her now too big shirt and pulling her too her feet. 'I hear you do not know why you were sent to my lands'  
Her voice was cold as she stepped close to the girl, looking down at her as if she was nothing but dirt on her shoes. Nodding her head quickly at the woman Clarke straighten her back, she may have been weak but she wasn't going to let this woman think she was. A small smirk graced the woman's lips as she watch Clarke stiffen, her eyes flickering with something Clarke did not recognise.  
'Very well. You will become one of mine than, it is never bad to add to one's army, no matter how terrible the warrior' Her words confused Clarke, she had no idea what this lady was talking about, or what she was going to do with her now. The woman simply gave Clarke another small smirk before indicating toward the door.  
'Come, It is time for you to join your new home, if you can survive it.'

Present. Clarke was jolted out of her memory at the sudden halting of her horse, Kera had stopped a few feet before her, jumping swiftly down from her animal, 'We set up camp here tonight'  
Without replying Clarke simple nodded quickly before dismounting from her own horse, her legs were stiff from the ride not use to such long journeys on the animal, looking around she realized she had been daydreaming for a lot longer than she though, the sun had started to disappear on the horizon and she could no longer see any indication of the city now far behind them.

Moving towards the bags on the back of the horse, she started to rifle through them, in search of a tent, all she could find though was a number of animal furs and food, indicating that they would be sleeping in the open for their journey.  
Pulling the furs out of their bag, Clarke set them down before tying her horse to the closest tree, once secure she indicated to Kera that she was going to collect wood for a fire, and maybe catch something if she could, they might have to make their rations last so any meal they could catch would help. Moving into the trees that surrounded the small clearing Kera had chosen Clarke finally took note of what was around them, they had just entered a dense forest, which told Clarke they were heading east, away from Azgeda lands, thinking Clarke figured 2 or 3 weeks and they would reach their border, than coming into wealthy lands that were dominated by the nomads, people from different clans who did not wish to offer allegiance to any, further across the flondukru lived, holding the lands by the sea.

Continuing forward Clarke silently kicked at the leaves under her feet, attempting to find the driest pieces of Wood that she could in the hopes of getting a fire started, bending down she began to pick up twigs and branches as she continued moving along, the biggest sticks she could find were moderately damp but the fire should hopefully dry them out enough to catch alight. As she was moving along, a slight rustle to her right caught her attention, zoning in on the sound she figured it was a rabbit or squirrel, something small as it wasn't crunching the leaves beneath its feet loudly. Slowly placing the sticks she had collected into a small pile, she quickly grabbed the sling shot that always rested at her side, her fingers nimbly reaching into the pouch that hung beside it, pulling out a smooth stone, slightly smaller than the end of her thumb she placed it into the holder of her weapon, slowly moving toward her left in a wide circle from where the sound was coming from, she moved so she was facing down wind, to not startle the animal with her smell, she was surprised enough that it hadn't caught her scent already and didn't want to risk it escaping.

Moving closer towards where he knew it was she quietly stepped over the leaves beneath her feet, aiming for any moss patches that she could find to hinder the sound of her steps as much as possible, moving around a large shrub bush, she finally caught sight of the animal, a large brown rabbit was rustling through the grass, probably looking for food hidden under the leaves. Breathing in slowly, she carefully pulled the elastic of her sling shit back, carefully taking aim so that she wouldn't miss the animal on her first shot, breathing out she prepared herself to loosen the shot. It was then that she noticed two smaller rabbits off to the others side, both playing with the other, as if there wasn't a care in the world. Relaxing the pull that she had on the sling shot, she turned away swiftly, moving back towards the pile of sticks she had placed on the ground before hand. She already lived in a cruel world, just because she had to live without parents and kill to survive didn't mean she would do that to another creature when she could avoid it. They had rations that would last them awhile, she didn't need the rabbit to survive today.

Placing her slingshot and stone back where they belonged, she picked up her bunch of sticks and twigs, adjusting her hold on the to make sure she didn't drop any, she headed back toward the camp. Once she had arrived, she carelessly dropped the sticks to her side before kneeling to the ground, sorting through the bunch she grabbed the smallest and driest twigs she could find and began placing them in a small teepee shape on the ground. Reaching back into the pile at her side, she grabbed the next driest stick out of the bunch and reached for her dagger that was strapped to her leg, pulling it out she began shaving the stick in her hand, begging careful not to let any fall to the floor and become damp of the moisture that seemed to be covering everything. Once she had a small pile, she placed it into the middle of her teepee design before standing up and moving to her backpack, she knew she had seen a Flint stone in there when she had first riffled through it, something that was a luxury to most clans but highly needed for Azgeda, as the weather often made it to hard to start a fire with just friction on wood. Grabbing the stone she made her way back to the pile of wood, kneeling back down, she began striking her dagger against the stone, aiming the Sparks that flew outward toward the small pile of shavings, patiently watching it she kept going until she saw smoke begin to emit slowly from the pile, tossing the stone and dagger to her side, she knelt in closer towards the smoking oiling, breathing carefully on it in the hopes of getting a flame to catch alight. A smile raced across her features as the bundle caught a light in a shorter amount of time than she thought it would. Carefully she began to readjust the sticks that were sitting over the top of the flame, making sure they would be in its path to catch slight as well.

'You're getting better at that'

Kera's words didn't startle her at all, she had been aware of her movements the whole time, the nearly silent footsteps, the change in the breeze behind her as kera's body stopped the small breeze from hitting her body, 'I could still be better'

Keeping her eyes on the fire, Clarke silently placed a few more sticks on top of the others that had started to catch aflame. 'You can never master everything Clarke, as much as you try'

'It'll never stop me from trying too'

The light chuckle that came after her comment made Clarke stop for a second, throughout her entire year of training with Kera she had never heard her laugh before.

'That's why I like you Clarke, no matter what, you never stop trying'

Nodding her head slightly, Clarke moved backward so she was sitting on the ground with her legs crossed in front of her, she watched silently as Kera moved to the Other side of the small fire, placing a fur on the ground before sitting herself, 'no point in getting wet when you can avoid it'

Smiling at the older woman, Clarke grabbed some more sticks from her pile, placing them on top, she watch as each piece slowly caught alight, letting her know she no longer needed to watch the fire at all times.

'Are you going to tell me where we are going?'

She looked up at Kera as she spoke, the silence that followed was quite, the risking of the breeze bringing a slight chill yo Clarke despite the fire before her,

'Our kwin requested that I not tell you anything until we reach the border, but I see no point in hiding something you will need to know to complete what she has asked of us.'

Nodding at the words, Clarke waited patiently, watching the flames of the fire flicker, 'I'm not coming with you, I'll go no further than our border'  
The words startled Clarke, looking away from the fire she looked at Kera's face, her first had a slight frown upon her lips, her brows creased in a worried glance. The moment passed quickly as Clarke watched her steal her features, her face appearing passive at the information she was giving Clarke. 'I will keep training you as we travel, once we reach the border you are to keep going until you reach the Nondikru, do you know who they are?

Nodding again, Clarke quickly answered, 'the nomads, they control the lands between our border and the flondukru'

'Correct, I have clothes and weapons for you in my packs, you will take nothing of Azgeda with you. You are to appear as the nomads, a new member of their tribe, once you have reached their camp, our Kwin would like you to deal with the leader of the camp, do you understand me Clarke?'

'She wishes me to kill him'

'Yes'

Giving Kera a small nod, Clarke thought quietly to herself before replying again, 'what good will this do for our clan though? They will simply elect a new leader's, Azgeda gains nothing from this'

Nodding her head at her sekond, Kera pulled a small knife from behind her back, most likely attached to her belt. It was small in size, about half the length of clarke's arm, but rather than being straight like that of the Azgeda it was curved, the handle a dark brown with intricate carvings of waves artistically printed in the wood. Taking the dagger from Kera, Clarke studied it carefully, she knew who this knife belonged too, not the person specifically but rather, the clan. Looking up at Kera, Clarke simply gave her first a small grimace before saying anything.  
'Out Kwin wants me to leave the dagger behind, doesn't she'

Clarke watched as Kera smiled at her, the woman proud of her sekond for understanding what was happening without having to tell the young girl.

'I'll leave the knife in the body of their leader, it's flondukru, so they will assume someone from the clan has killed their leader, starting a war between the two clans'

Smiling at her second again, Kera clapped her hands together before replying, 'exactly! This is what I am training you for Clarke, sometimes it is easier to let your enemies take care of your own problem for you, all you need to do, is give them a little push.'

Keeping her eyes trained on the knife in her hand, Clarke traced the pattern on the handle carefully, 'and if I am unable to kill their leader?'

'Than you shall either be dead or pray to the spirits that you will die, our Kwin will not accept failure on this Clarke, you are to prove your worthiness to be my sekond, there are many different youngsters back home that Nia would much prefer me to train'

'Than why choose me?' Looking up at Kera Clarke watched as her first looked down at the ground, a frown appearing on her face. 'That is a conversation for another day goufa, for now we rest, we have a long journey ahead of us, and you must continue your training as we travel'

Silently accepting her firsts words, Clarke quickly grabbed a few more branches from the pile next to her, adding them to the bow bright fire before her, standing up she made her way to the bedroom she had retrieved from her pack earlier, picking it up she moved back toward the fire, laying it down so that she was close enough to feel the warmth, but not so close that she was at risk of catching slight

'I'll take first watch'

Grinning proudly at her sekond, Kera only nodded before pulling the cuts out from beneath her and laying them on the ground, laying down. Clarke watched her silently, questions attempting to escape her mouth but she held them in tightly, she had learnt at a young age that too many questions would result in punishment, she had already been given more information than her first was suppose to inform her off, she wouldn't push her luck.

Settling down in her bedroll, Clarke got herself into a comfortable position, while keeping her knife and slingshot close in preparation for any surprise attacks during the night.

Authors Note:

I'm so sorry its taken me this long, i'm in the middle of my exam period right now and have been constantly studying, I stopped just to finish this chapter and get it out to you guys, I promise once my exams are over updates will be more regular.  
I'd also like to put in that I was thinking of making Clarke's time in the prison cell a lot darker than it was, but my girlfriend insisted 'that I couldn't do that! She's only 4!'  
So you can thank her for that little flashback haha!

Hope you guys enjoy! I was originally planning on making this chapter longer but figured you guys deserved an update rather than waiting! That also means though that I already have half of the next chapter written, can't guarantee when it will be up, again my exams suck.

Thanks reviews! I love getting them!


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